


Until the end (whenever that may be)

by thevaliantdust



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: AraMente, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5294270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevaliantdust/pseuds/thevaliantdust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little while after the events at Whitestone, Vox Machina set out for the last of the Ashari tribes to help Keyleth complete her AraMente, but are they prepared for what they will find?</p>
<p>Vax/Keyleth centric but the rest of Vox Machina makes an appearance as well!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Her laugh was like the warmth of sunrise slowly seeping into his bones after a long winter night. He flashed her a cheeky grin, using a cocky bravado to hide how much his heart fluttered knowing he was the one who’d caused the demure smile creeping across her lips. 

“Oh, and that’s not the worst of it,” he continued, growing more animated in his tale, “she also-”

“I think Keyleth has heard quite enough, brother,” Vex cut in icily, walking past Vax and giving him a stealthy, yet surprisingly powerful elbow jab to the ribcage. Keyleth, for her part, could recognise the veiled warning and ducked her head to hide her smile, the mental image of Vex covered head-to-toe in swamp slime and other questionable substances more than enough to entertain her for the time being. 

It had been a long trip, but they were nearing the general area where Keyleth knew the last Ashari tribe to be. It made her edgy, to be so near the end of her AraMente, and even more so, near a possible answer to a question she tried not to think too hard about. She wondered if Vax was picking up on her nervousness because throughout this trip he had been by her side, telling her stories, keeping her mind off her worries, smiling in that charming way that only he could really pull off- another thing she tried hard not to think about. Ever since Vax’s confession and subsequent kiss at Whitestone, which somehow went mostly unaddressed, the two of them had walked a very fine line of pretending not to notice the heady tension between them. So far they had been mostly unsuccessful, but at least they were persistent. 

Ahead of the party, Vex, with Trinket on her heels, seemed to be looking at something just over the crest of the large, rocky hill they had been traversing for the past hour. Percy was next to catch up, his eyes widening in interest, perhaps even awe as he took in the sight before them. Keyleth was glad to see him starting to interact with the world again. Ever since the series of events in Whitestone, Percy had been… not altogether with them, she supposed was the best way to put it. 

Now cresting the hill herself, she could see what had drawn him out of his shell. The valley below them was exquisite, almost unnatural in its beauty, shrouded in a low-hanging mist that wasn’t quite thick enough to obscure the landmarks. A great lake, overhung with a forest of willow trees, was fed by 3 rivers of varying size and strength. At the point where these met, a relatively small settlement floated on the water. It was hard to see exactly from their vantage point, but it looked as if the modest houses floated on interconnected platforms in a half-moon shape. Above the floating platforms, interwoven with the willow tree branches, spanned several other platforms and rope bridges. She felt the eyes of her companions fall to her, and while it was only the natural response, the heavy burden of responsibility began to weigh on her again. 

As if he sensed this, Vax stepped closer behind her. “It’s beautiful,” he voiced the unspoken consensus. “Should we- I mean, would you like to head down there now, make it before dusk perhaps, or we could camp out here and meet them bright and early tomorrow?”

Something about his gentle prompting fortified her resolve, and she gave him a quick grateful smile before looking over the rest of the group. “I’d like to head there now, if that’s alright with everyone?” She took in the general nods of agreement. 

Percy spoke up. “You ought to be the one to lead us down there, Keyleth, it’s you they’ll be wanting to talk to.” Keyleth acknowledged his words with a nod, squaring her shoulders and beginning her attempt at a graceful descent. She did not fail to notice Vax’s presence just beside and behind her. Her hands loosely at her sides, she felt a soft warm pressure in her right hand- gone just as quickly as it had appeared. With so much riding on this meeting, this encounter, she did not- could not- think of this touch as anything more than reassuring. 

*

The seven humanoids and 1 bear stood on the shore of the lake they had glimpsed from above, feeling a little silly, if they were honest. 

“So, uh, we’re here… how do we, well, get there?” Scanlan asked, trying his utmost not to push the buttons of an already rather wound up druid princess. He gestured to the floating settlement farther out on the lake. 

Keyleth looked unsure, glancing around. There was a small part of her that wished she had come alone as she had originally intended, free from the expectant eyes of her found family. But when she had mentioned setting off on this journey Vax had insisted on joining her and the rest of Vox Machina hadn’t been far behind. And she remembered their loyalty and bravery during her trial at Pyra. If this was anything similar, she would need her friends by her side.

The mist seemed to be growing thicker, and Keyleth surmised it was likely another arcane weather side-effect such as the ones surrounding her own Ashari home. It did make things awfully difficult to see though. She thought she caught a glimpse of a figure in the river to her right, but as she turned her head in that direction, the figure vanished. Vax followed her gaze, then gave her a quizzical look when he saw nothing. She shook his question off, not feeling the need to explain.

Out of any other ideas, Keyleth removed her boots, placed them on the shore and stepped towards the water’s edge. “Are we going swimming?” asked Grog. Pike, propped on his shoulder, whispered some sort of explanation.

Keyleth slowly dipped her feet in the water, taking one, then two, then three steps into the stillness of the lake. Taking a cue from her time with the fire Ashari, she closed her eyes and began to focus on the environment around her, the arcane energy in the air, in the water at her feet. She could sense the group behind her beginning to settle on the shore, taking a seat in pairs or threes, murmuring quietly to each other. Vax was closest to her, watching her, she thought. Occasionally she’d get a stronger sense of him as he dipped his fingers in the water. 

She forced herself to drown it all out. Controlling her breathing, clearing her mind, she began to focus on asking permission. Again and again, a mantra, a plea, a yearning. She felt the tide of energy start to flow like the current through her body. She let it overcome her, feeling it build until it was an ocean roar in her ears. 

*

She did not realise she was shaking until warm hands wrapped a cloak around her shoulders. She broke from her trance with a start, whirling around to see a hesitant Vax stepping back. It took her another moment to notice that the sky had grown dark. 

“I’m sorry, Keyleth, I was hoping not to break your concentration but you’re shivering. You’ve been at this for hours,” he explained, genuine concern and regret on his face. When she didn’t seem angry at his intrusion, he stepped forward again. “Your lips are blue. You’ll catch your death of cold.”

“It’s not working,” Keyleth replied softly, knowing that much would already be obvious to him. “I don’t know what to do.”

She glanced over at her friends, now asleep on the river bank a little ways away. Vax touched her shoulder, drawing her thoughts away from them and back to him. “Don’t worry, they’re fine,” he assured her.

“How do I finish this if I don’t even know where to start?” The apprehension in her voice brought out a fiercely protective ache in Vax’s chest. “What do I do? They’re right there, I can see them! Do I have to swim across? Is that it?”

Vax chuckled quietly, partly at this rather amusing mental image and partly at the adorably incredulous panic in Keyleth’s voice.

“Perhaps,” he began, a tender prompting to his voice, “although I somehow doubt the mighty Ashari would have something quite so undignified as their means of entry.” Keyleth ducked her head in a mix of acknowledgement and agreement. 

“I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. With the fire Ashari it took mere minutes.”

“Maybe that’s the thing. Water and fire are very different elements, one would not expect them to behave identically.”

Keyleth titled her head questioningly, not quite following Vax’s train of thought. “I mean,” he began to clarify his point, “and I could be very wrong here, but to me fire is hasty, impatient, furious. Fire can destroy things, homes, lives-” there is the briefest of hesitations, but Keyleth catches it, “- in the shortest moments. Water, on the other hand is slow, patient. Water wears things down over time, not breaking away large chunks but slowly eroding piece by piece until there’s nothing left.” He left his words hanging in the chilled night air, waiting to see what she made of them. 

“I have to wait,” she surmised, a sense of finality in her words, a surety Vax couldn’t confidently come to on his own.

“Could be,” he agreed. 

Standing knee deep in the lake, Keyleth looked down at the water, a small shiver running down her spine as she accepted her fate. A very cold night lay ahead.

“Thanks Vax,” she said, meeting his gaze with a heartfelt look that tightened something in his chest. “Make sure you dry off before you go to sleep.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“There’s no need for two of us to freeze all night,” she argued. 

“We’re not going to freeze,” he said with a tentative undertone she missed at first. “I’ll stay and keep you warm.”

Keyleth was visibly taken aback, but tried to cover it. “You don’t have to, it’s fine, I’ll be fine,” she assured him, shaking her head.

He sighed knowingly, closing the last few steps between them. “Don’t be silly, you’re already turning blue, and you’re no good to us or the Ashari dead from hypothermia. Let me help you.”

As he said this, he reached out with both hands, placing them slowly on her waist, giving her the chance to pull away. When she made no move to do so, he wrapped his arms all the way around her, pulling her back flush against his chest, already feeling the shared warmth of their bodies start to spread. 

“I won’t get in your way,” he promised.

She lingered, rigid for an instant as she made her choice. After the longest moment, he felt her slowly relax into his grip. Her hands clasped over his for a brief minute, the gentle squeeze of her fingers a silent thank you. Then she reached out again, taking up a position of meditation once more.

Vax felt her breathing slow, the energy coursing through her body begin to change. He closed his eyes and focused on it, willing himself to fall in step with her so that she would have as few distractions as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long night, it seems Keyleth's patience has paid off

It took a sharp movement of surprise from Keyleth for Vax to realise he’d fallen asleep standing up. His arms were still wrapped around her, shoulders stiff and legs numb from the cold. He was momentarily thrown off balance by the shift in her posture. Releasing her in order to get his bearings, he looked up to see a figure stepping out from the mist- walking on the water?!

He did an almost comical double take at this unexpected turn, immediately stepping up next to Keyleth, throwing a look over his shoulder to see if any other members of their group were seeing this.

All still asleep. Useless. 

Stealthily moving his hand up to his ear, he hissed into his earing, “Vex. Vex! Stubby, come on! Open your eyes dammit.”

A bleary “what?” returned to his ear, quickly followed by an “oh shit!” and “I’m on it.”

Trusting his sister to wrangle the rest of Vox Machina, he turned his full attention to the form in front of Keyleth. Which was now two- no, three- forms. Fan-fucking-tastic.

The ethereal mist-clad figures were close enough now that he could identify the middle one as a half-elf, flanked by two naiads. The half-elf, for all his regal bearing, looked softly, almost fondly at Keyleth, who seemed taken aback by the unexpected warmth and familiarity radiating from this stranger. Vax, sensing her discomfort, placed a reassuring hand on the small of her back, his other hand drifting towards one of his daggers. Keyleth didn’t break her gaze from the man in front of her, but the way she squared her shoulders and lifted her head ever so slightly made Vax think she appreciated his touch.

“Keyleth of the Air Ashari, daughter of Vilia, be welcome here,” the half-elf spread his arms in a hospitable gesture, his voice silken and his eyes kind.

Both Vax and Keyleth remained frozen for a moment, seemingly trying to process this surprisingly knowledgeable greeting. Vax gathered his wits first, abandoning politeness to look over his shoulder, feeling a sense of relief when he caught sight of his sister and the rest of Vox Machina barely twenty feet away from them and fast approaching. As he turned back, he noticed the half-elf too was watching Vox Machina approach, a jovial expression on his face despite the wariness of the group. 

“And of course, your consort and companions are most welcome as well,” he addressed Keyleth again. This finally seemed to snap Keyleth out of whatever thoughts had been causing her knitted brows as she physically jumped back in surprise, accidentally crashing into Vax as she did so. In his own state of shock, Vax reacted instinctively, the hand that had been on her back slipping all the way around her waist, his other hand abandoning his dagger to catch her shoulder. Their eyes met in mutual surprise at this impromptu embrace, each frozen for a brief moment, before Keyleth pulled away as if scalded. Vax released her immediately, trying not to take it personally. This was hardly the time for that sort of thing, especially with the man assuming they were- well- 

“He’s not, we’re not…” Keyleth stammered for a second before taking a breath. “These are my… friends, Vox Machina.” She took a moment to introduce them each by name, taking great pains to introduce Vax somewhere in the middle of the pack.

“And you already seem to know me, or know of me, but I cannot say the same,” she prompted. The half-elf inclined his head in acknowledgement of her respectful request. 

“I am Ailas, my mother, Aenwyn, is headmaster of the Water Ashari.”

At Ailas’ words, Keyleth’s shoulders tensed, burning curiosity and hope in her eyes. “You spoke of Vilia, my mother. Has she passed through here?”

Ailas smiled knowingly. “Yes, and there is much to tell, but let us not conduct our business out here. Perhaps you would prefer to rest, gain back your strength. It has been a long night for you. My mother will speak with you of such matters when you have settled.”

Vax could see Keyleth struggle with the thousands of questions burning in her chest, but she bowed her head, accepting Ailas’ answer with the grace befitting her status as future headmaster of her tribe. 

“Come now, friends of Keyleth, Glacia and Salis will guide you on this journey,” he addressed Vox Machina, now tightly grouped behind Keyleth and Vax. He gestured to the naiads on either side of him. With that, he turned and walked towards the settlement on the lake, obviously expecting them to follow. Keyleth took one step forward, her legs sluggish from exhaustion and cold. Still she took a moment to pull Vax’s cloak from her shoulders, pressing it into his hands with a soft ‘thank you’ before she struck out in front of the group following Ailas. 

Vax met his sister’s eye, slightly sheepish under her irritated gaze, her lips pursing as her eyes flicked down to his cloak. She brushed past him before he could so much as think to justify himself. He gave a world-weary sigh, flicking his cloak back around his shoulders. Percy walked up beside him, clapping him consolingly on the shoulder. Vax met his eyes, grateful for the support until he noticed Percy’s eyes dancing in amusement. “Don’t you start,” he muttered.

___

It showed how far away his thoughts were that he did not realise the strangeness of the situation until Percy’s voice rang out across the group.

“Is this- are we going under the water? I thought your people lived in those houses up there?” Percy gestured to the crescent shaped village they had all assumed was the Ashari tribe. Vax broke from his contemplation, noticing that although they seemed to be walking towards the middle of the lake, the water level remained steady around his ankles. Around them the water seemed to be swirling, pulling back, creating a walkway. Ailas turned back to look at Percy, accommodating charm on his features. 

“Some choose to live above, yes,” he smiled “but most of our number prefer the sanctuary of a more… hidden existence.” 

“Err, will be be able to breathe, under the water?” A nervous sounding Pike piped up from behind Grog as the swirling mass of water began to converge over the top of the group.

“Rest assured, no harm will come to you,” Ailas promised, turning back to lead the group. Several members of Vox Machina shared skittish glances, but took their lead from Keyleth who followed Ailas with her shoulders back and head high. Vax took a few quick steps so that he was placed directly behind Keyleth, trying very hard to ignore the judgement radiating from his sister beside him.

Now entirely encased in water but for a pocket of air which surrounded the group, they walked for some time, longer than seemed feasible given the size of the lake. Out of danger for the moment, Vax’s heart rate slowed allowing his body to begin to register the coldness of his extremities. He suppressed a shiver, noticing Keyleth attempt to do the same in front of him. He knew she wouldn’t take kindly to him offering her his cloak a second time, not with the way her shoulders sat high and tense, looking as if she carried the weight of the world upon them.

He leaned forward, unable not to engage with her in some way. “We’re with you, Kiki,” he murmured in her ear. She didn’t seem surprised to hear his voice so close, a testament to her hyper aware state. She didn’t look at him, but nodded, her hand finding his and giving it a quick squeeze. He missed her warmth as soon as it was gone. 

Not two minutes later, Ailas came to a stop. The group looked around, seeing nothing around them but the mass of swirling water which had surrounded them for their entire journey. As Scanlan was about to say something that would no doubt embarrass them all, Ailas raised a hand to forestall him. Considering the half-elf had been looking the other way, this feat took them all by surprise. Ailas placed both his hands inches from the wall of water in front of them, his eyes closed in concentration. 

The sound of grating stone came seconds before the water before them parted, revealing the entrance to an ornately carved stone cavern. Ailas nodded to the naiads on either side of the group before he turned back to the group, another wide smile across his face.

“Welcome,” he said, a tiny glimpse of pride leaking into his voice, “to Aquas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, I know, but it was either end it here or make it super long, and I wanted to get it up before the episode. As always, thoughts welcome :)


End file.
